Piano.vocal
piano.vocal is a pop formation from the Baden-Württemberg city of Oberkirch . It was founded in 2001 by Hannes Schmidt and Ralf Brandstetter and emerged from their previous joint work in the New Classic Orchestra fortissimo .
history
New Classic Orchestra ffortissimo
Hannes Schmidt founded the New Classic Orchestra ffortissimo in 1997 . Driven by the dream of bringing songs by his musical idols Elton John or John Miles to the stage with a symphonic line-up , he succeeded in presenting an 18-person ensemble to a sold-out house at the premiere on November 7, 1998. On December 5, 1998 the second concert took place in the community hall in Lautenbach. Schmidt was responsible for the musical direction and also arranged the songs that were played.
Hannes Schmidt and Ralf Brandstetter met through a musician friend in Offenburg in winter 1998. From the very next “ffortissimo” concert, Brandstetter took over the moderation of the evening and sang a number of tracks - including a duet with Hannes Schmidt.
The cooperation between the two has been excellent from the start. Their common musical weakness for catchy piano pop was already expressed in their first song "Suddenly", which Schmidt performed for the first time with a 25-member ensemble at Brandstetter's wedding in July 2000.
Their musical preference was paired with a shared passion to organize concerts as events. Within two years the two managed to get more than 2000 listeners to concerts by “ffortissimo”.
On July 2, 2001, this era ended with a final in front of a home audience. Numerous musicians in the ensemble began their studies in cities, some of which were further away, and there was also the financial risk for Schmidt and Brandstetter, who were ultimately responsible for all productions in this regard as well. In the period from 1999 to 2001, a total of three live CDs were made, almost without exception, with cover songs, of which 500 to 1500 copies were sold out in a very short time.
piano.vocal
The first official appearance of Hannes Schmidt and Ralf Brandstetter as "piano.vocal" followed in October 2001 in the Renner wine bar in Oberkirch. Four weeks earlier, the two had spontaneously sat down at the same place at the piano for a small session. Due to the resulting desire of the audience for a new edition, with a view to the application of the piano evening there was now the need to find a band name ad hoc. Since Schmidt and Brandstetter had no precise plans at this point how they could go on musically speaking, they simply named themselves after the line-up in which they played: Piano & Gesang - i.e. piano.vocal.
From October 2001 to April 2002 they played one evening in the wine tavern every month - with resounding success: no sooner was the date of the next gig known than the evening was already reserved again.
During the Weinstuben era, the repertoire grew - in terms of both the cover and the original compositions. Schmidt and Brandstetter wanted, above all, to include their own songs in a fixed stage program. In the spring and summer of 2002 they developed their “Soirée d´amour”, an evening for love, which premiered in October 2002 at “s´Freche Hus” in Oberkirch. The evening was conceived as an emotional roller coaster ride on the different facets of the topic. Own songs found their place next to familiar ones as well as own poems and self-made clips, which were visualized synchronously with the songs. All 16 events up to spring 2004 from Freiburg to Dinkelsbühl were sold out.
In January 2004, Schmidt and Brandstetter got to know the pianist and producer Chris Német from Freistett. The previous song material was viewed together. They agreed on an album with a total of ten songs, which were recorded in the Island Studio in Rheinau from March to May. The title of the album was "Suddenly" and also formed the title song.
During the time of production, Schmidt and Brandstetter wanted to make the songs accessible to a wider public. They dreamed of a concert in the Offenburg riding hall. Since the production went far beyond the original concept of piano and vocals, a band had to be put together. Schmidt and Brandstetter rented the riding arena. They also hired a band around their new MD Chris Német. The concert advertised a sold out two weeks before the date. 3000 copies of the album were sold out. This was followed by TV appearances on Südwestfernsehen and on ARD.
“Suddenly” took 9th place in the annual charts on Hitradio-Ohr. The premiere was followed by concerts in band and orchestra formation. Schmidt and Brandstetter again built up a symphonic line-up with the help of Anne Schmidt-Heinrich - this time with professional musicians without exception. In 2005 - as far as the audience numbers were concerned - they were back as far as they were with “ffortissimo” four years earlier. The only difference is that the almost 2500 concert-goers could now hear piano.vocal's own compositions. One of the highlights of this creative phase is the inauguration of the Offenburg Badenarena in December 2005 with the Baden Symphony Orchestra (BSO) founded by Schmidt and Brandstetter. The two invited the group "Fools Garden" as special guests. 2000 guests heard the song "Come together" composed by Schmidt and Brandstetter for the Baden-Arena.
Taken by the idea of putting another cabaret on stage, they sought contact with their friend, actor Carsten Dittrich, in the summer of 2004 while preparing for their first CD release. The idea was to stage A Christmas carol by Charles Dickens in an unprecedented form. Together with the cellist Anne Schmidt-Heinrich, the four conceived the piece at the intersection of poetry, literature and music. Until 2009, Winterzauber from Pfullendorf to Bielefeld was performed a total of 50 times, almost always in front of a sold out house.
After an open-air concert with the BSO on the Oberkircher Kirchplatz in front of over 2000 spectators in the summer of 2007 and the release of an EP with three new songs, Schmidt and Brandstetter retired to the rehearsal room in August. They wrote new songs for their album planned for 2008.
Through a contact through TV producer Werner Kimmig , the two had met singer and producer Edo Zanki in the meantime. The production phase in spring 2008 took place mainly in Zanki's Kangaroo Studio in Karlsdorf. Tim Young did the mastering at Metropolis Studios in London.
Compared to "Suddenly" the songs showed much more complex structures. Opulent mainstream anthems stand in contrast to humorous and finely selected singer-songwriter takes on "Keep on running", sensitive ballads alternated with groovier mid-tempo numbers. The influence and participation of musicians from the sons of Mannheim, Laith al Deen and Max Mutzke are clearly audible. The media publication of “Keep on running” was scheduled for September 1, 2008 for Germany, Switzerland and Austria. For the first time, the album was available from Amazon in addition to the global listing via I-tunes. The release concert with the BSO took place in Kehl / Goldscheuer in mid-September. Hannes Schmidt had to fail during the dress rehearsal due to an almost ruptured appendix. 2000 guests came again.
After a TV appearance in the spring of 2009, “Keep on running” rose from sales position 271,000 to number 652 on Amazon. This was followed by a headphone concert on SWR 1 and assignments with the radio of the same name. The album was published in an edition of 3000 copies, but could not tie in with the sales of "Suddenly".
After six years with “Winterzauber”, Schmidt and Brandstetter planned the follow-up program for the pre-Christmas period in the summer of 2010 together with the actor Carsten Dittrich and the cellist Anne Schmidt-Heinrich. "Isn't life beautiful" (in the original "It's a Wonderful Life") is based on the American tragic comedy from 1946 with James Stewart and Donna Reed in the leading roles.
The film adaptation of Capra tells the story of the benevolent banker George Bailey, who lost a large sum of money due to an accident and who is subsequently confronted with a lawsuit for embezzlement. When he desperately wants to throw himself off a bridge, a Christmas miracle happens. The ensemble takes up this in a much more complex staging as a musical stage play. All seven events were sold out.
On November 5th and 6th, 2011 piano.vocal performed two concerts for "ZEHN" in the new Oberrheinhalle. The concerts were sold out again with 2500 visitors.
Schmidt & Brandstetter
In September 2011, "Schmidt & Brandstetter" released a single under their own name for the first time with the title "When the wind turns". Due to the feedback from radio and TV stations on the now rather misleading name "piano.vocal", the two decided to rename the company with a view to promoting their doctorate outside their home region. "When the wind turns" was presented live for the first time at ZEHN. The single also formed the prelude to the new album "Plan des Lebens", which "Schmidt & Brandstetter" released on September 15, 2012. The ten titles - all written in German - were created in spring 2012 in collaboration with Martin Rott, a producer from the "Mannheim scene" who now lives in Vienna.
Worldwide 1st Silent Concert with headphones
The live release took place from October 18th to 20th in the church in Kehl-Goldscheuer designed by Stefan Strumbel. With regard to the performance, "Schmidt & Brandstetter" decided on a world premiere: the first silent concert, in which all visitors - equipped with wireless headphones - mix their own individual sound.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Suddenly | First published: September 15, 2004 Sales: + 3000 |
| 2008 | Keep on running | First published: September 1, 2008 Sales: + 2500 |
| 2012 | Plan of life | First published: September 15, 2012 |